SUBJECT
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Approve cooperative agreement with Optus, Inc. for software based phones and implementation services. (One-time cost $438,864.26)
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DESCRIPTION
Over the last 30 years the county has used NEC phone system equipment for the board and constitutional desk phones with GTE/Verizon/Frontier as the carriers. NEC has ended sale of their phone equipment outside of Japan. With many of the enterprise phone equipment providers transitioning their products to the cloud, IT met with the stakeholders to establish requirements, then vetted various cloud telephony providers, selecting Zoom because they met the requirements and in addition have a reputation for reliability and uptime.
Optus Inc. is the reseller and on-site implementer for this deployment across the 3 judicial buildings and 18 Sheriff locations including the new Ridge District station in Poinciana, totaling just over 1,300 users. This would not include correctional facilities. The agreement provides for implementation services and phone system equipment to facilitate replacement of the end-of-life phone systems currently in place for the Sheriff, Public Defender, State Attorney, Guardian Ad Litem and Court Administration. The Zoom software will be purchased through a separate agreement with Carahsoft Technology Corp.
The County belongs to the OMNIA Cooperative, which has enabled us to piggyback the agreements that were solicited on behalf of the cooperative. OMNIA solicited Request for Proposal (#R200803), resulting in an agreement with SYNNEX Corporation for Cyber Security Solutions and Associated Products and Services through the reseller Optus, Inc. There are no local vendors that provide these services.
The attached agreement with Optus is for the purchase of software based phones, equipment and implementation services as follows:
• Phones and equipment - $284,829.84 (one-time cost)
• Implementation Services/Support - $104,034.42 (one-time cost)
• Owner’s contingency - $50,000.00
The implementation services will commence on August 1, 2025.
RECOMMENDATION
Request Board approve cooperative agreement with Optus, Inc. for software based phones and implementation services in the amount of $438,864.26
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds are budgeted in the IT/Telecommunications Project Fund.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Brad Howard
Sr. Procurement Analyst
863.534.6706
bradhoward@polk-county.net